All for Nothing
by Tyni14
Summary: "...I would have thought the town hero would go out in a more dramatic way, not cowering in front of all the people you once protected." Pressure was brought down onto his head, grasping at the object of disguise. The person speaking leaned forward, breath tickling his ear through the mask. "Pitiful." And with that one word, he felt something yank up. Rated T for blood.
1. Chapter 1 - Thorn-Sharp Ideas

Darkness swarmed around him, burying him in the feeling of solitude. Sharp pricks echoed upon his body while his nerves cried out in agony. He was faintly aware that there was movement somewhere; that this black abyss wasn't truly that. He willed himself to move, twist, turn and take in his surroundings, but he could not.

"Alright, _ninja_," the word was spat out, distant in the back of his mind, strangely sounding mechanical and fake. The tone was filled with burning fury yet dripped with desire and anxiety. "I've waited a long time for this. Your revelation, your end, but you sit here whimpering like a small child. I would have thought the town hero would go out in a more dramatic way, not cowering in front of all the people you once protected."

Pressure was brought down onto his head, grasping at the object of disguise. The person speaking leaned forward, breath tickling his ear through the mask. "Pitiful."

And with that one word, he felt something yank up.

* * *

><p>Chapter 1 – Thorn-Sharp Ideas<p>

"Mr. Cunningham… Mr. Cunningham…? Randy!"

The addressed teenager shot up with wide eyes, looking around the room. Several pairs of eyes stared back at him and a few snickers resounded around the class. Randy cringed. This wasn't home like he'd been dreaming of.

"Thank you for joining us, Randy," Mr. Bannister called, standing at the chalk board with narrowed eyes. "Now, turn to page 97 of your textbook."

As the teacher turned back to the board, Randy absently flipped the pages of his book, his mind wandering to other matters. Lately he had been having strange dreams, the ones that make you shiver when you wake up. Then again he had been going to bed at god knows what hour and it could just be a result from lack of sleep. But then with that, the Nomicon had been pretty quiet. Was he doing a great job ninja-ing or…?

The amethyst-haired boy shrugged internally and glanced down at the words his English textbook held, scanning through them. _The literary features of a story make sure that readers understand the universal message the author is trying to convey. When performing analysis __**one must be certain to be aware of the path that leads to one's success or all's success.**_Randy paused, mentally back-pedaling through the bolded words.

"Wait, what?"

"Mr. Cunningham, I propose that you listen if you want to hear what I'm saying instead of falling off a cliff into Dreamworld." Mr. Bannister's voice spoke from the front of the classroom.

The teen looked up, smiling sheepishly and rubbing his arm. "Oh, uh, yeah. I was just-"

"Does it look like I care enough for you to interrupt my teaching?"

"Oh…" Randy looked away from the teacher's irritated expression. "Sorry sir."

When the English teacher turned away, the boy's eyes once again returned to the text. _…story makes sure that readers… _Flustered, he jumped ahead a few words. _…One must be certain to be aware of the path that the author's purpose and universal message is taking. _

_What? _Randy thought, eyebrows scrunched up. _But it… it was totally… _

The bell rang and the students around his desk rushed by, merely a blur. He swore that the words had said something different, almost literally jumping off the page. Something about… success? And about the number one? Randy groaned and shut the hardback cover. Scooping his backpack up off the ground, the 14 year old slipped out the door, glancing at the book once more before heading to his next period.

* * *

><p>"Alright, Viceroy." The sandpaper voice yelled out as the owner walked into the lab. "What have I created today to destroy the Ninja?"<p>

The scientist rolled his eyes as he turned around in his chair. "I have-"

"_I!_" McFist interrupted, a grin plastered on his face. "You were saying?"

"-not created anything today. But I've been spit balling a few ideas that I think could have potential." Viceroy finished.

Hannibal's smile flipped and wrinkles became visible on his forehead. "You haven't _made _anything today?" He growled out through clenched teeth.

Viceroy flinched, walking over to his desk instead. "Well, maybe we're just going about this wrong? I mean how many times have you had to replace the Robo-Ape employees for the McFist Finger Foods division because of the ninja?"

"Ahh who cares! I have plenty of Robo-Ape replacements and I can get replacements for those replacements. We need something to destroy the Ninja now!"

"Sir," The scientist puffed as he picked up some blueprints from the table. "I think you're missing the point. Have you heard of the term, 'history repeats itself'?"

McFist crossed his arms, his face beginning to sprout irritated wrinkles. "What does this have to do with anything? History repeats itself meaning… uh… history is history."

"Clearly," Viceroy hissed through his teeth. "Let me break it down for you. History repeating itself means that things we've done before happen again and again in the present and future."

"Still not seeing the point."

"The point is that we've been repeating ourselves way too many times. We need a new approach to taking down the ninja. Robots and monsters aren't working, Hannibal."

McFist paced around, the idea finally striking his brain. "Hmm. Yes, I can see the potential. Alright how 'bout this," Raising his arms in the air, the man paused dramatically. "Ice cream that identifies who the Ninja is!"

Viceroy shook his head. "We've tried that before."

"Have not!"

"Well, I mean, remember the McKicks incident? That's close."

"Gah! Fine. What do you propose my new idea should be?"

* * *

><p>Howard tapped his foot in irritation. <em>NNS again, Cunningham! I can't believe you, <em>he thought, his eyebrows creasing and a frown stuck to his face.

Finally done with waiting, the ginger walked into the MsFist-A-Plex and handed the minimum wage working teen his movie ticket.

"Theater five will be on your left," The boy replied with a slight voice crack. "Enjoy your movie."

Howard took the ticket stub back and padded through the lobby to the snack bar, grumbling to himself. _Randy soooo owes me after this. _

The 14 year old rolled his eyes silently, still not over the fact that he was being ditched. The line in front moved slowly and he looked down at his phone to check the time. It was 8:27 pm. The movie started in three minutes and he did enjoy watching the trailers. Enjoy as in judge each new film into categories he and Randy had made up, ranging from super-wonk-fetus movies and amazedingles-honkin-bruce-wet-your-pants films. Wondering what was going on, Howard slightly sidestepped, anxious to get to the judgment. He snorted when he spotted what the holdup was.

Typical. A Robo-Ape was malfunctioning, appearing to have had some soda splashed onto it. These events weren't uncommon since most of the town was run by the machines, but they were quite a nuisance when they occurred. Howard glanced behind him at the ticket stand. The teen boy that had greeted him swiftly opened the bottom of the stand and took out a box with a green button. Once pressed, the malfunctioning ape behind the counter was whisked away but several mechanical hands in the ceiling. As one ape went up, the arms lowered an identical worker before slipping back into the rafters with the ceiling closing after.

The grumpy teen growled and approached the bar for his turn to order. He hoped that Randy would have had far more than enough time to finish whatever he was doing and get here. He really did need some more people to hang out with, but seeing how it went with Bucky, it was a slim possibility that anyone would want to hang out, if not because of him then definitely Randy.

The boy purchased a bucket of popcorn (muttering that Randy should have bought it but he needed something to chomp on during the movie) and slipped out of the line towards the assigned theater. Howard juggled the popcorn in one hand as he reached the theater door and opened it, being cast into darkness. Noting that the trailers were already rolling with an irritated grunt, he took his seat and sat down before tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

It didn't surprise him that half way through the movie the screen swelled and burst, pieces of the fabric showering down all over the theater. It didn't surprise him when the Ninja came hurling out of the now open stage. Nothing surprised him yet. Yeah, not yet.

Ironically, Randy came flying into the seat next to Howard as the theater exploded into a form of organized chaos. Only in Norisville (and perhaps a town hosting certain ghosts) would there truly be an organized amount of chaos, but Howard nearly shrugged it off, deciding to turn to his best friend and chew him out.

"You're late." The brown-eyed boy grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The Ninja sat, dazed, in the chair with his limbs sloppily thrown over the arm rests. "Yeah. Would you like me to apologize?"

Howard snorted. "Actually yes. And now we're going to have to be moved to another theater."

"Wow," Randy puffed, finally gaining a sense of direction and sitting up. "You're deciding to talk about this _now?" _

"Uh, when else am I supposed to talk about it?"

"I don't know, maybe _after _this fight?" The Ninja suggested. His eyes widened as a steel pole, presumably from the curtains that had hung over the movie screen, came hurtling towards the duo. He hastily snatched Howard with his scarf and bounded away towards the back row of seats. Howard grunted as the accessory tightened around his stomach, threatening to release the popcorn in him.

As they landed, the larger teen regained his annoyed posture after sucking in a breath of air. "Could you tell the monster that you have other priorities, like hanging out with your friend?"

Randy turned to his best friend, constantly glancing back at the monster. It had finally stepped out from the screen and was scanning the theater for his opponent. The warrior shoved Howard down below the chairs, eyes reflecting his sarcastic exasperation as he spoke. "Oh, yeah. Sure, Howard. Let me just stand up in front of this worm-snake-dragon thing and ask politely to postpone the rest of this fight because I need to go watch a movie. I'm sure it'll understand completely, maybe even hand me some money for snacks."

"See, _that's _what I'm talking about," the other boy replied. "You should really think these things out. There have to be other options besides fighting it head on."

The creature roared and flicked out its tail, sweeping across the theater and ripping the chairs from their positions. Unable to respond, Randy threw Howard a small glare and grabbed him by the waist. His mind slowed as he waited for the precise moment to dodge. Four columns away, two, one…

He leapt right as the wind from the attack swept over them and latched the scarf onto the exposed rafters inside of the screen. The two boys swung for half a second and then clumsily landed onto the wooden boards at the front of the theater. Howard shook out his head before pushing himself to his feet. "Look, I'm just saying."

"Okay, Howard. I get it," Randy huffed. He jumped away, trying to keep the monsters attention on him. "I'll try to be a little more consistent on hanging out with you."

The ginger nodded. "And…?"

"And I'll pay for your popcorn," At a glance at his friend, the teen growled. "And a family sized bag of McSquiddles."

"Deal."

With his friend finally satisfied, Randy refocused on the monster. He finally got a good look at it as it had been night outside and the theater had been dimmed. The creature was the length from the floor to about two to three feet below the ceiling. There were leathery, teal colored wings flapping around madly as it tried to unbalance its attacker with gusts of wind. It was shaped as a worm but, instead of brown, it was a foggy orange color, more of a muddy copper. The eyes arched up angrily from its head, void of pupils and glowing with dark crimson. Finally, jagged, perfect-icicle sharp teeth jutted out from around its lips with an amethyst tongue that was flicking out constantly.

Randy lunged for the creature in front of him before he drew his sword out. The air whistled around him as he aimed the blade for the tongue in hopes of making it recoil from the attack. However, it swiveled suddenly towards the suspended teen and raised a tattered wing up to intersect the attack. The Ninja collided with the shield with an ungraceful face plant, letting out a grunt of surprise from the strength of the impact. Vision swimming, Randy's head peeled away from the leathery surface, brain throbbing. He surveyed the damage, eyes growing to golf ball sized at the sight of the completely spotless wing. His sword had merely scratched the surface.

The monster began to buck under Randy, irked with the amount of extra weight balancing on its body. Questions still swarming in his mind, Ninja pushed off with a hard shove from the wing and propelled himself across the room. He summersaulted into his land before returning to his legs and staring at the enemy.

_My sword couldn't cut through. _The thought raced into his consciousness first, leading a handful of other ideas that caused a shudder to run down Randy's spine. _The sword can cut through almost anything though. Unless it's a bulldozer? But it doesn't _look _like a bulldozer. Is it even a stanked person? Is it possibly really just some sick monster? Maybe the sorcerer created it, or it's from the Land of Shadows, or Viceroy finally figured out how to counter my attacks, or…?_

Using his confusion as an advantage, the monster struck out with his tail with enough power to level a building. Razor like spikes littered the end, the points sticking out threateningly. Randy shook his mind of the conflicting thoughts swirling inside and attempted to leap away. Moving just slightly too slow, a barb flicked across the suit, penetrating through the material and busting through his skin. The teen gasped at the sudden pain in his shoulder and lightly grasped at it during his escape.

The monster hissed, as if it were warning the warrior to give up. Randy simply shot a scowl back and stuck a hand into the sash around his waist. Feeling for the objects, he pulled out three spheres that were painted black with red detailing and chucked them towards the monsters face. An explosion cast the room into a bright gold and allowed the boy a moment of warmth to curl in his chest from the success. The creature shied away from the blast and slithered into the shadows at the edge of the theater.

Randy took the opportunity to catch his breath and apply more pressure to his shoulder. Small drops of ruby trickled down through the suit, staining it into a sticky, warm, glistening black. But it wasn't long before the monster recuperated its mind and returned to snarling at the boy. It momentarily flicked its eyes across the room, the empty red orbs catching movement from the stage.

Howard was still in the room, attempting to escape.

Randy followed the creature's eyes and found the origin of interest. His own eyes hardened with realization of the monster's thought process. "Don't you dare." He barked.

An awkward grin twisted onto its penny colored face, the teeth turning it more into a grimace. Its tail lifted from the ground and pointed towards the ginger before it struck out forward, the air angrily whistling as it moved through the space. Randy tensed himself and forced power into his legs. He shot forward towards his friend.

Time seemed to slow. It was the Ninja's speed up against the monster's. For the first time, Howard realized the situation and scrambled backward, finally surprised as his mind raced for a solution.

Light from above danced across the edges of the spikes before bouncing off into another corner of darkness. Randy's own blade sported bright competing contenders, the various shades of yellow and white finding partners from both weapons as they cascaded towards the same target. Howard's muscles tightened until they strained from the effort and his eye lids slammed down in terror. His pupils had reflected his fate, his mouth releasing a shriek that would haunt even the stoutest of humans.

Numbness bombarded Randy's body as his eyes absorbed the scene. His defensive posture collapsed and he crashed onto the stage floor. A breath barely whispered into the room before his head snapped up towards his friend in horror.

Blood dribbled down onto the floor, creating a neat puddle beneath the 14 year old that had let out the scream. Howard's eyes were slightly glossed over from the realization of the event and the agony pounding down on his spine. The sudden increase in weight on his feeble legs caused him to dip. He attempted to catch himself before his knees buckled and sent him crashing into the wooden boards beneath, the tidy puddle from the blood splashing around into furious splotches. Randy tried to call out but his jaw was stuck like glue. His throat felt like sand paper. One thought rang out in his mind: _What did I _do?

The shimmering thorn claimed Howard's body and delicately stuck out of his spine, acting as though it had always been there.

* * *

><p><strong>(Author's Notes)<strong>

**Yeah, I know right. How unfair is it for me to be completely inactive since May and then I suddenly post a new story when Dark Secrets isn't anywhere close to being finished. Shame on you Ty. **

_**(If you're not wondering about my other story, Dark Secrets, you can skip this part of the Author's Notes.)**_

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I'm posting this anyway despite Dark Secrets. Truly, I am super sorry guys. I hit the one hundred foot wall of writers block and have been trying to get over it since May. Questions you may have:<strong>

**1) _Are you going to update Dark Secrets soon?_**

**I'll be completely honest. I have no idea when it will be updated. I've been debating whether to continue from where it currently is (and what doesn't help is that I've already started chapter 3). I feel like I jumped into the plot way quicker than what I wanted and now the lazy side of my brain doesn't want to rewrite the first two chapters even if I wanted to. Maybe I can post a poll later and you guys can help me figure this out. **

**2) _Does this mean Dark Secrets is cancelled?_**

**Absolutely not! I know you all want to know what happens to Randy (I do as well!) and there are probably some/many plot holes that are in Dark Connections that I need to cover. I'd like to reread Dark Connections myself pretty soon to see what needs to be fixed. All in all, nope! Dark Secrets is still a go!**

**3) _What have you been doing? Wasn't summer about to start right after you updated chapter 2?_**

**Hehehe, yeah... Well again, that writers block was just a poopy little feller that got in the way. With that, June was pretty busy for me anyway. I went to Italy at the end of the month for two weeks (WHICH WAS AMAZEDINGLES. Holy cow, I wish I could go back. It was so beautiful and calming and the weather was super nice! And the food. _The Foooooood__. _So wonderful and mouth watering. I want gelato now) and then my older sister was moving away in July. I really don't know guys, motivation just got away from me. I'm really sorry. **

**4) _Could you maybe just... give us some hints on what happens to Randy? PLEASE?_**

**Pfffft. No. I'm still the author who loves to keep you guys twirled up in my mind of confusion. My suggestion? Reread some of the last chapters of Dark Connections. There may be some stuff you missed? I don't know. :3 I really will try to update soon but definitely no promises. Also, once I update I don't know how frequent updates will be for the story. Sorry guys. Here, I won't be totally heartless. Here's a few sentences from Chapter 3 (but it may be changed so don't get hooked on anything yet: **

_If he (Randy) was honest with himself, he'd been feeling down a lot since… sometime several months ago. But every time he tried to think back to when it started, a sharp pain was sent through his skull. For that it wasn't worth it really, but Howard urged him to say what was wrong a lot. And each time Randy would excuse himself and go home. _

**That's all I got for you guys!**

**If you have any more questions, shoot me a PM and I will definitely talk to you about it! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, hello again! Back to All for Nothing, yeah? X3 <strong>

**This story is for me to get my creative juices flowing again. I'm not sure how frequently this will be updated, but it's not going to be very long. I'm hoping I can get it to be around 5 or so chapters, and I really don't want it any longer than 10. So yeah! **

**If you're new to my twisted mind, welcome! And if you're a returning reader, hello again! I hope you're all ready for this story. *Insert smiling angry face emoticon because less than/greater than signs haven't worked for me on Fanfiction. com) **

**Reviews help keep my mind on updates if ya wanna just leave one here. It'd be cool. :3 Hope you enjoyed and will enjoy! **

**(Geeze that was a long Author's Note -_-)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Green with Chaos

Chapter 2 – Green with Chaos

Sirens blared outside of the theater. Red and blue lights flickered across the bricks outside as the ambulance pulled up, civilians moving out of the way yet lingering to see what was happening.

Randy sat with his knees under him, his brain still trying to process the previous few minutes. Howard laid in front of him, almost completely still. In his stupor, Randy's mind had at least had enough sense and consciousness to check his friend for signs of life. His numb body had relaxed slightly when he caught sight of a small flutter of movement from Howard's chest, giving away that he was thankfully alive.

The teen wasn't sure when the ambulance workers showed up in the theater with a stretcher. He wasn't conscious of when he had slipped the mask off of his face before he crawled closer to his best friend. He was, however, faintly aware that someone had laid a hand on his shoulder and that he was being gently escorted away towards the lobby. He couldn't focus though. To him his feet felt like they were stuck on fly paper and his mind was the human coming to dispose of him. That was too close, it was the first time he truly realized how dangerous being the Ninja was… And having someone close to him know.

_Maybe the Nomicon was right. _The thought struck Randy hard and a chill slithered up his spine. _What if the Ninja shouldn't be able to have a friend who knows? _But that couldn't be right. He thought that the Nomicon had accepted Howard by now. And what about the first Ninja and Plop Plop? Randy sighed and sat down gently onto the theater floor. _Okay, my thoughts are getting way too chaotic. I just need to take a breath. _He puffed out and tried to focus, his eyes mindlessly following the firefighters and police officers inside. Except that the more he tried to focus, the more the scenery around him blurred. Something was off, he realized. But he had already blacked out before he could identify the problem.

* * *

><p>Randy's eyes cracked open, exhaustion filling every nook of his body. The room was blaringly bright and white and the smell of anti-bacteria cleaner overpowered his senses. He didn't remember his mom saying he needed to go to the doctors, but then again the room was too void of color to be the doctor's office. The hospital, perhaps? An "oh well" slipped through his mind, his eyes protesting to be closed until he finally complied.<p>

_Wait, the hospital? _Randy's head jerked up, eyes snapping back open and frantically searching the room. No one was inside. It was completely quiet, save for the mellow beeping from the heart rate monitor. The TV above hummed with a silent static as the images flashed by. Captions beneath the show airing scrolled back and forth, each word replaced with a new one as the characters continued to speak. As Randy's vision evened, the light inside the room faded into a comforting yellow from the sunlight splashing through the window.

The boy relaxed slightly and raised his hand to his forehead. It was then that he noticed the sudden sharp pain from his shoulder, causing him to hiss from the discomfort. The ninja mask usually numbed his cuts and scratches. He must have taken it off too fast before the healing could start. _Wait… _

Randy put his weight on his functioning arm before he sat up in the bed. He carefully removed the pristine white blanket covering his body and looked down. His normal red shirt and black jeans had been swapped with a hospital gown.

Alarm swam through the teen, quickly forced down in order to keep his calm. The mask had to be inside of his jacket's hidden pocket, that's where he always put it. Unless someone took it out? Or he left it at the theater when he was checking for Howard's pulse? But until he could find his clothes, Randy wouldn't be sure if it was still there or not.

Determination began to pool inside Randy's chest before he lightly swiveled his legs out from underneath the rest of the sheets, careful not to disturb his shoulder. Sucking in a breath, the 14 year old planted a foot onto the white tile, a shock of cold swirling underneath it. Stabilizing his body's weight onto it, he placed his other foot down and stood.

_Not too bad. _He thought, stretching his muscles and flexing his arm. _Just a little sting. _But with that thought the room dipped underneath Randy in a sudden spurt of dizziness. He gingerly sat back down on the bed. As he did so, the doorknob shook and clicked open, a lady with vibrant hazel-jade colored eyes walking in. She was dressed in a navy blue nurse uniform and had her dirty blond hair neatly tucked into a long braid that reached down to her elbow. She beamed when her gaze reached Randy's own and calmly waved at him with her free hand, a clipboard and pencil in the other.

"Ah, you're up. I'm Nurse Camila," she said, answering the boy's unspoken question. "You took a nasty cut to that shoulder, huh?"

Randy, momentarily caught off guard, blinked. "Huh?"

Camila gestured to his shoulder with the pencil she was holding. "Your shoulder. Does it hurt?"

"Oh. Um. It's more of a sting I guess."

"Really?" This time the woman blinked. "I was expecting more than 'just a sting'. But I guess that's good!"

Randy nodded. _Was that the right answer? Maybe she's working for McFist! _He paused in his thoughts. _Well of course, McFist owns, like, everything here. _"Um. I guess I have a high pain tolerance…?"

Nurse Camila glanced Randy over. "Uh… huh. Okay, well, I was sent to run a few more tests on you. I'm just going to ask a few questions and then draw some blood."

The 14 year old nodded, watching as the lady jotted a few notes down onto the clipboard after the motion he made. Pulling the armchair away from the wall and towards the bed, she sat down. Camila cleared her throat.

"Okie dokie then, question one: Do you remember where you were before you got here?"

"The Mcfist-A-Plex Theater." Randy smoothly answered.

"Mmhm. Um…" the nurse paused as she wrote something. "How about the event that took place?"

Randy subtly leaned forward, slightly uneasy. "Uh. There was a monster attack. I was..." Panic tried to force its way into his chest. He swallowed. "In the theater where it jumped out of the screen or whatever. Oh, with my friend, Howard." The name tumbled out of his mouth and for half a second, Randy's mind went blank. "Howard…" He whispered. "Where is he?"

Camila nodded. "Good... Oh yes, the unconscious one."

"Is he okay?" The teen nearly hopped across the room, bolting up from the bed. "He has to be. He's alive right? Is he in a coma or in intense medical care or-" The room blurred and Randy stumbled as he let out a small groan.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down there." The nurse pushed the armchair back and rushed over to him. She steadied the boy on her shoulder. "You need to sit down, young man. No quick movements, alright?"

Randy shook his head in an effort to clear the nausea swelling up in his stomach. Taking that as a yes, Camila set him back down on the bed and returned to the chair. "Just a few more, and then I'll take the blood. Are you ready? These are easy." He nodded gently.

"Name?"

"Randy Cunningham."

"What city are we in?"

"Norrisville." He replied as he closed his eyes.

"Do you remember the time it was when the incident happened?"

"Um… The movie started at 8:30, I think? Last night."

Camila marked the paper on the clipboard and leaned forward slightly. "Did the Ninja appear during this monster attack?"

Randy sat up, trying not to look rushed or alarmed. "I'm… not sure. I was out of the theater when I saw the monster attacking. I thought Howard was behind me but then he wasn't and I didn't want to go back in until after I couldn't hear the screeching anymore. Then it was silent and I went to see and Howard…"

"That's alright. That's fine. One more thing and then we're done with questions," The woman relaxed back in the armchair and looked up at the teen with an even expression. "Do you remember how you got the shoulder injury?"

Randy's eyes flicked towards Camila's and then to the floor. He recognized the mistake instantly. _Oh honkin cheese. _"Um… I, uh, I'm… not really sure. I could have been hit while running from the movie?" It was more of a question then a statement. He mentally face-palmed. "I don't know. Adrenaline or something…"

The nurse stood, her clipboard tucked underneath her arm. She was quiet as she pulled out a syringe and latex gloves from the sink in the corner of the room. Randy uncomfortably sat on the bed, choosing to examine his palms. He knew that he screwed up. But now he couldn't fix it.

Camila padded over and held up the syringe. "It's just going to be five milliliters. There will be a slight pinch but it will be over in a flash." She lowered it to the blue-eyed boy's arm and inserted the needle. Once finished, Camila turned to go.

"Um. Can I see Howard?"

She stopped at the door. An audible sigh echoed across the room. "Follow me then. Slowly." She added when Randy stood abruptly. The teen murmured an apology before he followed the woman out of the room.

The halls were a bleached white, similar to the patient rooms, but instead of the natural sunlight had humming fluorescent bulbs. The trimming and doors were practically the only rest from the blatant color, adding a soft red to the corridor. Randy trailed behind Camila anxiously. The lady hadn't said a word and it was beginning to unnerve him. He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"So… What exactly are you testing my blood for?"

Camila glanced over her shoulder, jade-hazel eyes flashing in the harsh lighting. Other doctors passed by in a blur. Some of the workers walked by unevenly, favoring a leg or other limb but Randy tried not to stare for long. Camila finally answered, breaking through his questions about the workers, "Mostly just the basic things. Blood sugar, blood type, things like that. It won't take long."

"Oh…" The conversation died back down while the two traveled through the hall. The 14 year old returned his focus to the red trim along the walls, attempting to ignore the growing silence. He had almost forgotten that he was following Camila when she abruptly stopped in front of a door and began to gently twist the handle to let them inside.

Randy peered out from behind the nurse towards the bed. His sapphire eyes were met with a ginger haired boy lying quietly under snowy sheets.

"He's sleeping right now," Camila interjected as Randy took a step forward. "Wake him gently and avoid touching his head. The left arm is broken as well. Oh, and don't talk about his eyes. We haven't told him yet. If anything comes up, don't be afraid to call for help." With Randy's uncertain nod of understanding, the woman turned and vanished through the door.

He padded forward in silence, his eyes scouting his best friend's body. Howard's face was decorated with a serene look, almost so vacant that it surprised Randy. But as he sat down, a small smile dappled the other teen's quiet face, causing a beam of his own. Randy reached out a hand to prod Howard but then hesitated. After a moment of thinking, he shrugged it off and shook the boy's leg.

"Howard?"

The soft breathing in the room stirred and puffed, almond colored eyes cracking open. Howard squinted as he looked around the room before his gaze landed on the other person sitting by the bedside.

"Randy?" He breathed.

The addressed teen shakily laughed. His grip tightened as he gazed back. "Hey bud. How are you?"

Howard blinked groggily and opened his mouth into a yawn. "I'm, uh. Good I think? Today has definitely been a weird one."

"Yeah. I guess it has. Well, I'm just glad you're alright."

"I don't even know why I'm here though. The doctors just keep asking me to answer questions."

"Oh?" Randy cocked his head in confusion. "You don't remember what happened last night?"

Howard shook his head. "No, am I supposed to?"

"Remember last night when we went to the movies?" Howard stared back into Randy's azure eyes, clueless thoughts swirling through his own. The teen continued, "The monster attack in the theater? The big worm-dragon thing? And then you…"

The ginger haired boy turned his attention to the blanket. "I uh… Sort of remember. What happened?"

"You, um," Randy licked his lips and his hands twitched in his lap. "You were hit by… by one of the spikes. In the back."

"Oh…" Howard's eyes were losing clarity. His eyelids were beginning to droop. "That's interesting."

Randy's eyebrows furrowed. "Interesting? I don't think that's the word you would usually use to describe something like that."

"No… no. It's fine,"

"Um…?" The boy in the hospital bed relaxed. Randy sighed and leaned back into his chair again. That was strange, to say the least.

_Must be the medicines. _He thought, vision blurring as he felt exhaustion set in. _Just a few minutes and then I'll get Camila. Just glad that… he's…_

Hands clasped around Randy's neck, jostling him from his dozing as his lungs were cut off from air. His eyes snapped open in terror and panic before he began struggling in his attacker's grasp.

"Randy," A scratchy voice growled. "_You _did this. You did this to _me!_"

Face beginning to morph purple, the teen spluttered and twisted. He clawed at the immense arms around his throat, distress completely flooding his brain. The world suddenly turned into a tilt-a-whirl.

"You will pay for this! _You will get every last second of this pain back!" _

His feet were suddenly off the floor. His head crashed into the opposing wall and his breath rushed back to him in an angry whirl as he slumped. Prickles of oxygen swirled in his chest then up to his brain. Trying to refocus, Randy blinked hastily while breathing deeply. The only thing that he could clearly make out was a green glow. And it was creeping closer and closer and closer with each passing second until emerald filled his mind.

Randy's brain turned furiously, his muscles twitching as fight or flight instincts took over. The boy's senses were temporarily unavailable, green light pulling at each cohesive thought he could form. It was overwhelming to him, tickling each crevice in his mind with desire. If he could just fall into the emerald he was sure he'd feel…

_No_! Randy's hair fluttered as he shook his head to clear the hypnotizing thoughts. _Focus. Focus. I need… I don't…! _His eyes circled back to the green. _Stop it, it's doing something to you! Knock it off! _Palms flew back up to his eyes and pressed hard on the sockets. Blotches sparkled behind his eyelids before he reopened them. The green had dimmed enough so that Randy could make out its origin. Silence rang out as the teen identified pupils burning with jade fire that licked inside the owner's eyes…

Howard's eyes.

"Go, go, go! Get the binding ready! Just like this morning guys!" A woman's voice burst through the mute room as bodies flooded in from the opposite wall from Randy. Howard's attention jerked away from the prey and to the new threat, hissing as doctors closed in on him. Randy stared blankly at Camila rounding her coworkers and his best friend. She moved swiftly, a face of stone hiding her expressions while she pulled him up off the floor and held his weight on her shoulders. Legs swaying unsteadily like jelly, Randy's mind was void of thoughts. As he was escorted from the room, the last thing he saw was the ginger being tackled. Screams of rage rang out through the halls until they were a simple echo to Randy's thoughts.

* * *

><p><strong>(Author's Notes) <strong>

**A month. It took me a month to get this up (and three days if you want to get technical X3). It was weird working on this chapter in pieces instead of all in one sitting like I usually do with fanfics but hey, it did help my schedule. **

**Hanako5325 and Oblitus Angeli I never said Howard was _dead. _I'm offended that you two thought I'd stoop that low.**

**...****Nah I totally would do something like that. XD But I need him for the plot so he's alive. For now *evil laugh***

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sort of a filler but it was needed. Talk to you guys on the next! :D**

**Review if you'd like, it keeps my writing spirits up. :3**

**Updated 12/18/14**


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